Fluid meter



w. C. WAGNER FLUID METER Filed Dec. l5, 1937 Apri 29, 1941 WAS @umMTA/Ess.: www

Patented Apr. 29, 1941 MNHTED STAT?.

AE-NT ENCE 6 Ciaims.

This invention relates to metering of flow of gases and vapors, and, inparticular, relates to a pressure compensator. i

Heretofore, pressure compensators to be used in conjunction with gaseousor vapor iiow meters, to permit direct registration in units of Weightor in units of volume at a standard pressure, re-

quired highly complicated mechanisms comprising delicate parts whicheasily lost their adjustment, and had intermittently meshing gear trainswhich did not always function properly, or caused errors.

The primary object of my invention is to pro- Vide a device in whichthese defects are overcome.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pressure compensatorwhich can be readily and simply adjusted under operating conditions.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a device which willautomatically compensate for pressure, readings of a gas or vapor iicwmeter operated under conditions of variable pressure, and will registerthe ow directly in units of weight or volume at a standard pressure.

Another object of my invention is to produce a pressure compensator forgaseous or vapor flow meters, which is simple.- rugged, accurate andefficient.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, my invention consists essentially of a closedchamber pressure-responsive element such as a Bourdon tube or the likehaving a portion movable in response to the pressure to be compensatedfor, a cam movable in response to the movements of said Bourdon tube, axed stop, a movable element Whose movements are limited in one directionby said fixed stop and in the other direction by said cam, anelectro-magnet connected so as to be electrically energized by a flowmeter such as a steam meter, an armature arranged to be attracted bysaid electro-magnet when energized, a flexible stop limiting movement ofsaid armature due to gravity when said electro-magnet is de-energized,said armature being arranged relative to said movable element so as tomove said movable element during a portion of the gravity-actuatedstroke of said armature, a iirst register arranged to indicate themovements of said movable element, and means for driving said rstregister from said movable element in one direction of movement thereofand leaving said register unmoved during movements of said movableelement in the opposite direction.

The invention, both as to details of construction and combinations ofparts, will be best understood from the following description of aspeciiio embodiment which I illustrate as an example when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the device with the cover removed andparts broken away.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the device with the back removed and partsbroken away.

rIhe pressure-responsive mechanism is an ordinary Bourdon tube pressuregage element Il mounted on a base plate |62 and communicating with thesteam or gas main by means of an internally threaded coupling |54. Asupport, rigidly attached to the base of element |69, is provided withbearings in which are journaled pin |63 and cam shaft |73. A lever |72is pivoted on pin |58 and is provided at one end with a toothed sector|14 which meshes with pinion gear |15 integral with cam shaft |16. Alink |18 connects the other end of lever |12 with the movable end ofelement |66. Cam |39 is Xed on shait lli! which extends from the bearingin the support to a second journal |84 adjustably attached by a slot andscrew to a supporting extension |82, to permit alignment of said shaft.A rectangular vstrap |35 (of inverted U-shape in side elevation as seenin Figs. 1 and 2) is secured to base plate |2 and supports extension |82forming a part of a register supporting plate |38, and a solenoidmounting plate |90, these plates being mounted on strap |86 parallel toeach other. A ratchetwheel |93 is mounted between plates ist and ist ona shaft |92 journaled in said plates and projecting through plate |88 toconnect with the gear train of a dial register H24 which is carried byplate |83. A lever revolves freely about shaft |92 and is provided atone end with a projecting rod cam follower |98 and an extension whichcarries a series of pawls 233 pivoted thereto and engaging wheel |93 insuch manner that it can be advanced fractional distances of one toothwhen said lever is rotated. A similar set of pawls 262 pivoted to plate|88 prevents reversal of rotation of said wheel. An adjustable stop 2M(movable by means of the screw shown in Fig. 1) extends through a slotin plate |83 into alignment with pawl 260 and limits the movement of thelever extension, being adapted to meet the foremost of the advancingpawls 2M and exert on it a pressure radial to the wheel, thereby tendingto prevent overshoot due to inertia of said wheel. Anelectrically-operated solenoid 296 is fastened to plate |96, its plungerM53 being guided by a central fixed rod 2li), the weight of said plungerbeing supported by a shock-absorbing spring 2|2.

An arm 2l ll secured to the plunger 253 is provided with a nger EHSwhich engages the end of lever |96 opposite cam follower 98. Asupporting plate 2|3 mounted on base plate |52 carries a second dialregister 22o which is driven by a shaft 22?. journaled in plate Zia,said shaft carrying a xedly attached toothed wheel 22d and a freelyrotatable lever 226. Lever 226 is connected to plunger 2% by a pin andslot connection so that it oscillates with movement of said plunger, andcarries a pivoted spring-pressed pawl 22S adapted to engage the teeth ofwheel 225 and advance it a Xed distance for each operation of thesolenoid. Another spring-pressed pawl 239, pivoted to plate 2 la,engages wheel 22@ to prevent reverse rotation of the register. Y

'I'his device operates as follows: On reception of an electric impulse,plunger Zl with linger 2| 6 rises and releases lever |96, permitting theend weighted with pawls 29d to descend to the position shown, with camfollower E98 touching cam Iii whose position is determined by thepressure in themains as transmitted by element |60. When the electricimpulse ceases, the plunger descends under its own weight until nnger2|5 meets lever |96 (the position illustrated) Y and then advances saidlever until the stop 2M is encountered, advancing register les an amountdetermined by the stop 20d and cam |89. At the same time lever 226 hasbeen oscillated, and on its downward lstrolre has advanced register 225!by an increment which is constant because the plunger stroke is iixed,its upward limit being iixed by the customary stop within the solenoidand the lower limit being determined by the stop Elie through lever lei?and linger 2|6. This device is inherently free from shock effectsoccurring when the solenoid is energzed, because all the registeringaction occurs on the solenoid return stroke. Furthermore, there islittle pressure exerted on the cam because it receives only the gravityfall o lever |95.

I donot intend to be limited save as the scope of the attached claimsmay require.

I claim:

l. In a pressure compensator for a flow meter having a dial registerYand having a pressureresponsive element; a register-operating mechanismcomprising, a cam rotated in response to movements of said element, aiixed stop, a movable element whose movement is limited in one directionby said cam and in the other direction by said fixed stop, anelectro-magnet arranged to be energized intermittently by said flowmeter, an armature arranged to be attracted by said electro-magnet whenenergized and to move by gravity when electro-magnet ceases to beenergized, said armature being arranged to move said movable elementIdur-ing a portion of the gravityactuated movement of saidarmature, andmeans for driving said dial register during the movement of said movableelement in response to actuations of saidarmature.

2. In a pressure compensator for a flow meter having a dial register andhaving a pressureresponsive element; a register-operating mechanismcomprising, a cam movable in response to the movements of saidpressure-responsive element, a iixed stop, a movable element whosemovements are limited in one direction by said cam and in the otherdirection by said fixed stop, an electro-magnet arranged to beintermittently energized by said now meter, an armature arranged to beattracted by said electro-magnet when energized and to fall `by gravityupon deenergization oi said electro-magnet, a yielding stop limiting themovement of said armature away from said electro-magnet, said armaturebeing arranged to actuate said movable element during a portion of thegravity-actuated movement'of said armature, and means for driving saiddial register from said movable element during the movements of saidmovable element under the actuation of said armature. Y

3. In a pressure compensator for a flow meter having a dia-1 registerand having a pressureresponsive element; a register-operating mechani-smcomprising, a cam mounted for rotation about an axis as a pivot inresponse to movements of said element, a xed stop, an electromagnetarranged so as to be periodically energized by movements of said meter,an armature controlled by said electro-magnet so as to be movabletowards and away from said electromagnet, a rotary member connected soas to rotate said dial register, and means interposed between saidarmature and said member whereby said member is rotated by movements ofsaid armature away from said electro-magnet and is unmoved by movementsof said armature in the opposite direction, said means being limited inone direction by said fixed stop and in the opposite direction by saidcam.

4. In a pressure compensator for a iiuid volume meter having a registerand having a pressureresponsive device; a connection between the meterand the register communicating movement to the register in response tomovements of the meter and comprising an electro-magnet connected so asto be periodically energized by said meter; an armature moved towardssaid electro-magnet when energized and moved by gravity away from saidelectro-magnet when deenergized; an arm engaged and driven by thearmature during the gravity-actuated movement of the armature in onedirection to a iiXed point of travel at one end of its path;gravity-actuated means returning the arm; mechanism acting in responseto said pressure-responsive device and varying the return movement ofthe arm as the pressure varies; and means responsive to the movement ofthe arm and operating the register.

5. In a pressure compensator for a flow meter having a dial register forregistering the compensated flow of said meter and having apressure-responsive element exposed to the pressure to be compensatedfor; a register-operating mechanism comprising, a cam movable under thecontrol of said element, a fixed stop, a rocker arm mounted foroscillation between said cam and said stop and biased by gravity formovement in one direction, means movable in one direction in response toimpulses transmitted from said meter and movable in the return directionby gravity and arranged to oscillate said rocker arm by gravity duringsaid return movement, a rotary member mounted under the control of saidrocker-arm and connected to said dial register, and second meansco-operating with said member and said arm whereby for each oscillationof said arm said member is unidirectionally rotated through the angle ofoscillation of said arm and said dial register is thereby driven acorresponding amount. l

6. A register-operating mechanism for driving the dial register of apressure-compensated iiow meter so as to register the flow through saidmeter compensated according to the pressure at which it occurs, saidmechanism comprising, a cam movable proportionately to the pressure tobe compensated for, a fixed stop, a rocker arm mounted for oscillationbetween said cam and said stop and biased by gravity for movement in onedirection, actuating means for moving said rocker arm against itsgravity bias by means of gravity and movable in the opposite directionin response to impulses transmitted from said meter, a rotary membermounted under the control of said rocker arm and connected to said dialregister, and unidirectionally operating lo means for driving saidrotary member from said rocker arm during at least a part of theoscillation of said rocker arm against its gravity bias and while underthe control of said actuating means, whereby for each oscillation ofsaid rocker arm said rotary member is unidirectionally rotated throughthe angle of oscillation of said rocker arm and said dial register isthereby driven a corresponding amount.

WALTER C. WAGNER.

